Thursday, October 5, 2017

County judge called down for using county truck on Yellowstone vacation

OK, it's not charter jet travel, but it smacks of the same sort of attitude. The Hope Star reports that Hempstead County Judge Haskell Morse got into hot water for getting the county to buy him a new $65,000 truck (more than $66,000 counting bed cover and mats) and then using it for a personal vacation to Yellowstone.

Called down by a member of the Quorum Court, Morse first defended use of the truck as legal since he paid for gas. But then he reversed course. He issued a letter apologizing for a "grave indiscretion in judgment." He's written a check reimbursing the county at the standard IRS rate. He said, in part:

I know my decision may be the end of my service, but if that is the will of the citizens of Hempstead County and the good Lord, then I accept those consequences.

Welcome to Arkansas: Land of cowardly politicians, discriminatory laws, inhumane turkey drops and lots and lots of Trump voters.

Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill alone among Arkansas's House delegation voted last week against a measure that provided $36.5 billion in disaster aid, a portion for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico as well as money for wildfire response and to support the flood insurance program.

The State Police say Brett McCullough, 52, of Hot Springs, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding a bicycle about 8:47 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 70 West (Airport Road) in Hot Springs.

Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Bart Virden of Morrilton, who narrowly survived attack ads by an outside partisan group supporting his opponent for re-election to a nonpartisan seat, doesn't intend to let the matter drop.

Enjoy these photos from today's dedication and re-installation of a new Ten Commandments monument. The first iteration of the monument was installed last June but destroyed within the next 24 hours when it was rammed by a man in a Dodge Dart.